Portable devices such as, but not limited to, digital cameras, video cameras, portable media players, cell phones, and GPS receivers can be fairly complicated devices. Portable devices that capture content (such as digital cameras) and portable devices that render content (such as media players) can have device settings that, when configured correctly, can greatly increase the quality of the user experience. For example, in the case of a digital camera, there are many device settings that can contribute to the quality of the captured photograph. Such settings for a digital camera could include aperture settings, exposure time, zoom mode, flash, etc. Furthermore, settings may only be applicable under certain conditions. In the digital camera example, a given configuration for a camera may only be applicable under certain environmental conditions. For example, a night time shot may require specific aperture and exposure times the result of which would be an excellent photograph of a night time scene. The same configuration may produce a poor snapshot during the day time. The problem arises as the average person, being an amateur to the art of photography, may not know how to correctly configure his/her digital camera to be able to take an optimal picture in any given environmental surrounding.
Portable devices are also playing an increasing role in the everyday lives of many people in the world as capacities and processing power increase. Many of these devices can operate independently of a personal computer. Portable devices in most cases can be personalized and customized in their operation to suit user preferences, including the cases when multiple users, family members for example, may use the device at different times. Most of the shared computers in households also maintain a collection of user preferences called a user profile. Just as it is desirable to maintain a collection of different user profiles with a personal computer, it would also be desirable to maintain a collection of user profiles with a portable device.